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She took a step forward before turning sharply. When she spotted us, she stilled once more, likely in disbelief. But Ezra was not one prone to panic. She was logical and calm in all things, and she was then, as well.
Turning to the man, she excused herself. The noble wasn’t thrilled, but she turned her back on him anyway. She spoke to her guards, who scattered, quickly clearing the Great Hall, taking the noble with them.
Nyktos was quiet as Ezra approached us. The doors to the Hall closed, and only two guards remained, stationed in front of them.
Ezra halted at the top of the short set of steps. “Seraphena?” Her voice was barely a whisper as she glanced beside me. I saw her visibly swallow.
I stepped forward and lowered the hood of my cloak. “Ezra.”
She jerked, her eyes widening.
“Or should I say, Queen Ezmeria?” I added, bowing.
“Don’t you dare do that.” Ezra snapped forward, reaching for me but stopping short. “I’m Ezra. Just Ezra to you.”
A twinge of disappointment rose at the knowledge that she was still uncomfortable touching me, but as I straightened and saw that Nyktos had moved in closer, I realized her reaction might have had more to do with that.
“My gods, I thought the guard had misheard,” she said, glancing at Nyktos with wide brown eyes. “I didn’t think I’d ever…”
“See me again,” I finished, and she nodded. “Because I was supposed to kill this one?” I added, jerking my thumb at Nyktos.
“Nice,” Nyktos remarked dryly under his breath.
Blood drained rapidly from Ezra’s face, and I wasn’t sure if it was because of what I’d said or because Nyktos had lowered his hood.
Ezra clearly hadn’t forgotten what he looked like when she’d seen him last. “I think I need to sit down—” She caught herself before doing so, begi
“That is u
Ezra blinked slowly. “I have never fainted.”
The Primal smiled, revealing just a hint of fang. “There is always a first time.”
“Please, sit,” I jumped in. “He’s right. We don’t have long, and there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
Ezra sat in the chair. “Is it the supposed-to-kill-him part?”
I choked on a laugh as I sat on the settee next to her chair. Nyktos crossed his arms, remaining standing. “It kind of is,” I said, glancing around the now-empty floor of the Great Hall. My gaze got caught on the statue of Kolis for a brief second. I swallowed. “I’m sure you have many questions.”
“Loads,” she murmured.
“As do I,” I went on. “But as I said, we ca
Ezra gripped the arm of the chair as she looked between us. “I don’t know much about deals, so please forgive my ignorance on the subject, but the deal expired once fulfilled?”
“Or believed to be ended in favor of the summoner if the Primal is killed,” Nyktos tacked on, his voice deceptively level.
“And that,” Ezra said. “That, too.”
I turned to Nyktos, my eyes narrowed.
His brows lifted. “What?”
“Just so you know, I was never a fan of the deal,” Ezra continued.
“Because it wouldn’t be wise to attempt to kill a Primal?” Nyktos surmised.
“Yes, but mainly because it was unfair to Sera.”
That wasn’t news to me, but it was still good to hear that.
Nyktos said nothing, but he eyed Ezra a tad less intensely than before.
Taking another breath, I faced Ezra again. Her brows were furrowed into thin slashes as she looked between us. “There would’ve been changes when the deal was fulfilled. The climate would return to what it was before, less temperate, as I believe it already has.” That explained the hotter, longer summers full of drought and the vicious storms. “The ground wouldn’t be as fertile as it once was, thanks to the deal, but Lasania would’ve returned to how it was meant to be, which didn’t include the Rot.”
Ezra leaned back, and I could practically see her turning the information over in her head. “Then what is the Rot?” she asked.
“You believe her? That easily?” Nyktos demanded before I could answer. “Didn’t you and your families—her ancestors—believe the deal was the cause of the Rot?”
“I believe her,” Ezra said, her chin lifting.
“Because I am here?”
“Well, your presence may have a little to do with it.”
His head cocked. “A little.”
“Just a bit,” she said. “But I know how important saving Lasania was for Sera. She would not lie about something, knowing what it meant for her kingdom.”
Her kingdom.
I briefly closed my eyes. “Lasania was never mine.”
“That’s not true. You should’ve been Queen, Sera. Not me. If I can acknowledge that, you should be able to.”
Curling my fingers around my knees, I said, “But you are Queen, and that’s what matters now. You’ll be able to handle what I’m about to tell you, unlike my—” I cut myself off, took a moment, then continued. “The Rot was caused by something else entirely. Something much more complicated than a deal.”
Ezra was quiet for a moment. “And whatever it is, you ca
“No,” I said quietly.
“Then…” Her shoulders stiffened. “Then there is no stopping the Rot?”
“We’re going to do our damnedest to stop it. I swear,” I promised. “But nothing is guaranteed. There is a chance—”
“Barely,” Nyktos growled.
“A small chance,” I amended, “that we could fail. That’s why I came today. I wanted to warn you so you could prepare.” I thought about what Holland had told me and the people outside with their baskets and bushels. “But I think you’ve already begun to do that.”
“Yes. I have,” she said, her grip easing on the arm of the chair. “You know how I’ve felt about how the Rot was handled. I felt that we should be doing everything we could to build the pantries of the people, not just our own.”
“The people we saw on the way in?” Nyktos said, asking his first non-antagonistic question.
“We’ve started a bit of a food bank where people can come on certain days, at certain times, if they have need,” she explained. “I’ve also been in talks with the King and Queen of Terra, in hopes of strengthening their faith in Lasania. I believe I am being successful in such talks.” A small smile appeared. “I believe we simply needed to prove that an alliance with us is beneficial. Something my father, gods rest his soul, was never that great in relaying.”
I managed to fight back a cringe. Ezra loved her father, and I… My stare shifted to what would’ve been his throne.
“And how are you succeeding at that?” Nyktos asked.
I sucked in a soft breath, blinking. I didn’t think Nyktos was all that curious about what Ezra was doing. He might have simply been preventing me from blurting out what I’d caused.
Which I likely would have.
And Ezra didn’t need to know that.
“They have many fertile fields primed for crops, unlike us,” she said. “But we have one thing in abundance that Terra does not. Labor. Paid labor, involving those who wish to relocate to Terra—at least for part of the year. Our talks are going well.”
That was very smart.
“But if the Rot continues to spread…” She trailed off.
I nodded. “Has it spread?”
“A bit more. We’ve lost a few more farms, but it hasn’t sped up or anything like that,” she confirmed. I thought of the Masseys, knowing that their farm had to be one of those lost. “It is good to know this—what you’ve shared. It gives me, well, I don’t know how else to say it, but it gives me hope.”
My brows rose. “You didn’t think I’d succeed at killing him?”
“I wasn’t quite sure you’d succeed at the whole making-him-fall-in-love part,” she corrected.